The 2019–2020 Championship League was a professional snooker tournament, taking place over most of the 2019-20 snooker season from 7 October 2019 to 5 March 2020 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England. The event features seven group stages before a finals stage in March 2020; the first four played in October, two in January, and the final group played in March. It was the 13th staging of the Championship League. The event featured a total prize fund of £182,400 with the winner receiving £20,700. The losing finalist received £6,000 more than the winner due to having played in all groups starting from Group 3.
Martin Gould was the defending champion, having won the 2019 edition of the tournament, beating Jack Lisowski 3–1 in the final. However, Gould did not participate in this event. Scott Donaldson won the tournament, having qualified from group four and defeated Graeme Dott 3–0 in the final. This was the first professional snooker title of Donaldson's career.
Tournament format
The Championship League was a professional snooker event that took place between 7 October 2019 to 5 March 2020 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England. All matches were the best of 5 , and played as a round-robin, with seven groups consisting of seven players. From each group the top four players qualified for a knockout round, the winner of which qualified for an eighth "winners group". The lowest two players of each group are eliminated and the remaining four move to the next group, where they are joined by three more participants.
The winners group is played in the same way, with the winner of the knockout phase named as champion, and a place at the 2020 Champion of Champions. The event was sponsored by sports betting company BetVictor; and was broadcast via streaming on various betting websites, as well as on zhibo.tv in China.
Prize fund The breakdown of prize money for the 2019–20 Championship League is shown below.
Group 1–7 Winner: £3,000 Runner-up: £2,000 Semi-final: £1,000 Frame-win (league stage): £100 Frame-win (play-offs): £300 Highest break: £500
Winners' Group Winner: £10,000 Runner-up: £5,000 Semi-final: £3,000 Frame-win (league stage): £200 Frame-win (play-offs): £300 Highest break: £1,000
Tournament total: £182,400
Tournament summary
Group 1 was played on 7 and 8 October 2019, where Neil Robertson defeated Ryan Day 3–2 in the final. The second group was played on 9 and 10 October, with Stuart Bingham defeating Mark Selby 3–1 to win the group. After this, Selby and Barry Hawkins declined to continue, and were replaced by Xiao Guodong and Ben Woollaston, but both were eliminated in the third group. Group 3 was played on 21 and 22 October 2019, with Gary Wilson defeating Kyren Wilson 3–0. The group 3 matches saw a record number of century breaks made in a Championship League group with a total of 24, beating the record of 23 from the previous year's Winners' Group.
The fourth group was played on 23 and 24 October 2019. Scott Donaldson defeated compatriot Graeme Dott 3–0 in the final. Group 5 was played on 6 and 7 January 2020. Mark Williams won all six of his group matches, but lost in the first round against David Gilbert 2–3. Anthony McGill defeated Gilbert in the final to win the group. On 8 and 9 January 2020 in group six; Judd Trump won after a 3–1 victory over Graeme Dott. Trump also made the highest break of the tournament, a 145 in group six. Group 7 was played on 2 and 3 March 2020. Dott defeated Williams 3–1 to be the last qualifier.
The Winners' Group was played on 4 and 5 March 2020. On the first day, Trump made his 700th career century break in his round-robin match against McGill. The four players who qualified from the Winner's Group were Trump, Dott, McGill and Donaldson. Donaldson defeated Trump 3–1, whilst Dott beat Williams 3–2. Donaldson won his first professional tournament with a 3–0 victory over Dott in the final. Due to the additional prizes for frame wins, Donaldson was awarded a total of £20,700 throughout the tournament.
Group 1 Group 1 was played on 7 and 8 October 2019. Neil Robertson was the first player to qualify for the Winners' Group.
Matches
Luca Brecel 0–3 Mark Selby Barry Hawkins 3–1 Neil Robertson Jack Lisowski 1–3 Luca Brecel Jimmy Robertson 1–3 Ryan Day Mark Selby 1–3 Barry Hawkins Neil Robertson 0–3 Jimmy Robertson Luca Brecel 2–3 Barry Hawkins
Ryan Day 2–3 Jack Lisowski Mark Selby 2–3 Neil Robertson Jimmy Robertson 3–2 Jack Lisowski Ryan Day 1–3 Neil Robertson Barry Hawkins 3–2 Jack Lisowski Luca Brecel 1–3 Ryan Day Mark Selby 3–1 Jimmy Robertson
Barry Hawkins 3–2 Ryan Day Neil Robertson 3–1 Jack Lisowski Luca Brecel 3–2 Jimmy Robertson Mark Selby 0–3 Jack Lisowski Barry Hawkins 3–0 Jimmy Robertson Mark Selby 3–2 Ryan Day Luca Brecel 1–3 Neil Robertson
Table
Play-offs
Group 2 Group 2 was played on 9 and 10 October 2019. Stuart Bingham was the second player to qualify for the Winners' Group.
Matches
Kyren Wilson 3–0 Stuart Bingham Gary Wilson 3–0 Jack Lisowski Barry Hawkins 2–3 Kyren Wilson Mark Selby 3–0 Ryan Day Stuart Bingham 3–1 Gary Wilson Jack Lisowski 0–3 Mark Selby Kyren Wilson 2–3 Gary Wilson
Ryan Day 3–0 Barry Hawkins Stuart Bingham 3–2 Jack Lisowski Mark Selby 2–3 Barry Hawkins Ryan Day 2–3 Jack Lisowski Gary Wilson 3–1 Barry Hawkins Kyren Wilson 3–0 Ryan Day Stuart Bingham 3–2 Mark Selby
Gary Wilson 3–0 Ryan Day Jack Lisowski 1–3 Barry Hawkins Kyren Wilson 3–2 Mark Selby Stuart Bingham 1–3 Barry Hawkins Gary Wilson 0–3 Mark Selby Stuart Bingham 3–2 Ryan Day Kyren Wilson 3–0 Jack Lisowski
Table
Play-offs
Group 3 Group 3 was played on 21 and 22 October 2019. Gary Wilson was the third player to qualify for the Winners' Group.
Matches
Xiao Guodong 0–3 Tom Ford Ben Woollaston 0–3 Graeme Dott Kyren Wilson 2–3 Xiao Guodong Gary Wilson 3–2 Matthew Selt Tom Ford 3–1 Ben Woollaston Graeme Dott 2–3 Gary Wilson Xiao Guodong 2–3 Ben Woollaston
Matthew Selt 3–2 Kyren Wilson Tom Ford 3–0 Graeme Dott Gary Wilson 1–3 Kyren Wilson Matthew Selt 0–3 Graeme Dott Ben Woollaston 3–1 Kyren Wilson Xiao Guodong 2–3 Matthew Selt Tom Ford 2–3 Gary Wilson
Ben Woollaston 1–3 Matthew Selt Graeme Dott 2–3 Kyren Wilson Xiao Guodong 1–3 Gary Wilson Tom Ford 2–3 Kyren Wilson Ben Woollaston 1–3 Gary Wilson Tom Ford 3–1 Matthew Selt Xiao Guodong 3–1 Graeme Dott
Note Barry Hawkins and Mark Selby withdrew from the tournament prior to group 3 play.
Table
Play-offs
Group 4 Group 4 was played on 23 and 24 October 2019. Scott Donaldson was the fourth player to qualify for the Winners' Group.
Matches
Joe Perry 1–3 Scott Donaldson Ali Carter 2–3 Graeme Dott Matthew Selt 2–3 Joe Perry Tom Ford 2–3 Kyren Wilson Scott Donaldson 3–1 Ali Carter Graeme Dott 3–2 Tom Ford Joe Perry 1–3 Ali Carter
Kyren Wilson 3–1 Matthew Selt Scott Donaldson 3–1 Graeme Dott Tom Ford 2–3 Matthew Selt Kyren Wilson 3–2 Graeme Dott Ali Carter 3–2 Matthew Selt Joe Perry 2–3 Kyren Wilson Scott Donaldson 2–3 Tom Ford
Ali Carter 2–3 Kyren Wilson Graeme Dott 3–1 Matthew Selt Joe Perry 3–0 Tom Ford Scott Donaldson 3–0 Matthew Selt Ali Carter 1–3 Tom Ford Scott Donaldson 3–2 Kyren Wilson Joe Perry 2–3 Graeme Dott
Table
Play-offs
Group 5 Group 5 was played on 6 and 7 January 2020. Anthony McGill was the fifth player to qualify for the Winners' Group.
Matches
Anthony McGill 3–1 David Gilbert Mark Williams 3–1 Tom Ford Joe Perry 3–1 Anthony McGill Kyren Wilson 3–0 Graeme Dott David Gilbert 1–3 Mark Williams Tom Ford 3–2 Kyren Wilson Anthony McGill 0–3 Mark Williams
Graeme Dott 3–2 Joe Perry David Gilbert 3–2 Tom Ford Kyren Wilson 3–2 Joe Perry Graeme Dott 3–0 Tom Ford Mark Williams 3–1 Joe Perry Anthony McGill 3–1 Graeme Dott David Gilbert 3–0 Kyren Wilson
Mark Williams 3–2 Graeme Dott Tom Ford 2–3 Joe Perry Anthony McGill 3–1 Kyren Wilson David Gilbert 0–3 Joe Perry Mark Williams 3–0 Kyren Wilson David Gilbert 3–2 Graeme Dott Anthony McGill 1–3 Tom Ford
Table
Play-offs
Group 6 Group 6 was played on 8 and 9 January 2020. Judd Trump was the sixth player to qualify for the Winners' Group.
Matches
John Higgins 1–3 Judd Trump Mark King 1–3 Graeme Dott Mark Williams 2–3 John Higgins Joe Perry 1–3 David Gilbert Judd Trump 3–1 Mark King Graeme Dott 3–1 Joe Perry John Higgins 3–2 Mark King
David Gilbert 3–2 Mark Williams Judd Trump 3–1 Graeme Dott Joe Perry 2–3 Mark Williams David Gilbert 3–2 Graeme Dott Mark King 0–3 Mark Williams John Higgins 3–1 David Gilbert Judd Trump 3–1 Joe Perry
Mark King 1–3 David Gilbert Graeme Dott 3–1 Mark Williams John Higgins 1–3 Joe Perry Judd Trump 1–3 Mark Williams Mark King 1–3 Joe Perry Judd Trump 1–3 David Gilbert John Higgins 3–2 Graeme Dott
Table
Play-offs
Group 7 Group 7 was played on 2 and 3 March 2020. Graeme Dott was the seventh and final player to qualify for the Winners' Group.
Matches
Lyu Haotian 1–3 Robert Milkins Ricky Walden 0–3 Mark Williams David Gilbert 3–1 Lyu Haotian John Higgins 2–3 Graeme Dott Robert Milkins 1–3 Ricky Walden Mark Williams 0–3 John Higgins Lyu Haotian 3–0 Ricky Walden
Graeme Dott 3–1 David Gilbert Robert Milkins 1–3 Mark Williams John Higgins 3–0 David Gilbert Graeme Dott 1–3 Mark Williams Ricky Walden 2–3 David Gilbert Lyu Haotian 0–3 Graeme Dott Robert Milkins 0–3 John Higgins
Ricky Walden 3–0 Graeme Dott Mark Williams 0–3 David Gilbert Lyu Haotian 1–3 John Higgins Robert Milkins 2–3 David Gilbert Ricky Walden 0–3 John Higgins Robert Milkins 0–3 Graeme Dott Lyu Haotian 3–2 Mark Williams
Table
Play-offs
Winners' Group The Winners' Group was played on 4 and 5 March 2020. Scott Donaldson defeated Graeme Dott to win the tournament.
Matches
Neil Robertson 3–1 Stuart Bingham Gary Wilson 2–3 Scott Donaldson Anthony McGill 2–3 Neil Robertson Judd Trump 3–2 Graeme Dott Stuart Bingham 3–0 Gary Wilson Scott Donaldson 1–3 Judd Trump Neil Robertson 3–1 Gary Wilson
Graeme Dott 2–3 Anthony McGill Stuart Bingham 0–3 Scott Donaldson Judd Trump 3–2 Anthony McGill Graeme Dott 3–2 Scott Donaldson Gary Wilson 2–3 Anthony McGill Neil Robertson 1–3 Graeme Dott Stuart Bingham 1–3 Judd Trump
Gary Wilson 0–3 Graeme Dott Scott Donaldson 0–3 Anthony McGill Neil Robertson 0–3 Judd Trump Stuart Bingham 3–1 Anthony McGill Gary Wilson 1–3 Judd Trump Stuart Bingham 0–3 Graeme Dott Neil Robertson 1–3 Scott Donaldson
Table
Play-offs
Century breaks A total of 104 century breaks were made during the event.*Group 1 - Group 2 - Group 3 - Group 4 - Group 5 - Group 6 - Group 7 - Final group -
145 (6), 139 (W), 132, 128, 127, 127, 122, 120, 117, 114, 107, 100 Judd Trump 143 (4), 125, 121, 110, 109, 107, 106, 105, 105, 101, 100, 100, 100 Kyren Wilson 140, 132, 126, 118, 106, 105, 103, 100 Graeme Dott 139 (5), 126, 115, 109, 106 Tom Ford 138, 128, 121, 114, 111 Joe Perry 138, 117, 105, 103, 101 David Gilbert 137, 135, 116, 109, 107, 105 Mark Williams 137, 114, 114, 108 Anthony McGill 134 (2), 133, 131 (1), 130, 117 Mark Selby 134 (3), 132, 132, 125, 119, 108, 105, 103, 101, 100 Gary Wilson 134, 130, 118, 108, 101 Stuart Bingham 134 (3), 127, 113, 109 Xiao Guodong 133, 130 (7), 121, 109, 107, 101 John Higgins 132 Ben Woollaston 129, 116, 102 Barry Hawkins 126, 101 Ryan Day 125 Lyu Haotian 118, 111 Neil Robertson 111 Scott Donaldson 108, 101 Jack Lisowski 107, 101, 101 Jimmy Robertson 103 Matthew Selt
Bold: highest break in the indicated group.
Winnings